I know if I lived in India and I had a friend in the States I would be interested in knowing this.

Microsoft has an end-of-year present for Skype users in India. Starting now and running until the beginning of March, calls from India to the US and Canada are completely free of charge. Interestingly, this includes calls placed to mobiles as well as to landlines.

Unusually for such an offer, there's no commitment, no free trial and, seemingly, no catch -- just free calls for the next three months. The news comes just after Microsoft unveiled details of its Skype Translator preview, and is just in time for the holiday season when the number of phone calls placed tends to skyrocket.

Over on the Skype website, Microsoft gives some details about the offer, and there are very few limitations. Calls can be up to four hours long -- after this time you can simply hang up and redial if you still need to chat -- and business use, such as in call centers, is prohibited. These points aside, this is a pretty clear cut offer which will be well-received.